New exon/intron structures of NANOG1 and NANOG2 and their transcriptional properties in t(4;11) leukemia cells

NANOG transcripts have been identified in t(4;11) leukemia cells and an in vitro model system expressing t(4;11) fusion proteins. However, the NANOG gene belongs to a gene family, including NANOG1, NANOG2 and several pseudogenes. Based on our experimental results, both the NANOG1 and NANOG2 genes deviate from the yet known exon/intron structures. Alternative splice processes result in the production of 6 different NANOG1/2 protein variants. The revised gene structures allowed us to establish conditions that distinguish between transcripts deriving from NANOG1, NANOG2 and all other NANOG pseudogenes (P2-P11). By…